Pete V. Domenici



Peter "Pete" Vichi Domenici, a Republican, represented the state of New Mexico in the Senate from 1973-2008.

National security and foreign policy
In June 1996, with Sens. Richard Lugar (R-N.M.) and Sam Nunn (R-Ga.), Sen. Domenici introduced the Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction Act of 1996, also known as the Nunn-Lugar-Domenici Amendment to the FY1997 National Defense Authorization Act, as an alternative to the Defend America Act of 1996, which failed to pass in the House of Representatives.

Iraq War
Domenici voted for the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq in Oct. 2002.

On July 5, 2007, Domenici "called for a change in course in U.S. military strategy in Iraq — without waiting for the September report on the 'surge.' ... Domenici said he supports a bipartisan Senate bill which backs the recent report by the Iraq Study Group and would create conditions that could allow for a drawdown of U.S. combat forces in Iraq by next March."

Domenici was also a co-sponsor of the Iraq Study Group Recommendation Implementation Act of 2007, intended to makes the Iraq Study Group's 79 recommendations the policy of the United States, and ask the Bush administration, working with military and diplomatic leaders, to implement those recommendations. The bill is also intended to create conditions that could allow for a drawdown of American combat forces in Iraq by March 2008.

Environmental record
For more information on environmental legislation, see the Energy and Environment Policy Portal

Energy policy and companies
In 2006, Domenici and Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) sponsored the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act. The legislation planned to open 8.3 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico and share 37.5 percent of the new royalty revenues, dedicated to coastal protection, with Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi and Alabama. The legislation was passed and signed by President George W. Bush.

Oil Record
Pete Domenici has in favor of big oil companies on 78% of important oil-related bills, according to Oil Change International. These bills include Iraq War funding, climate change studies, oil import reductions, and clean energy. See below for oil money in politics.

Promoting nuclear power
In a five part series on the nuclear revival in the US in January 2007, MSNBC identified Domenici as the "Nuclear Renaissance Man" and Congress’ "chief nuclear apostle".

"If the renaissance that the U.S. nuclear power industry predicts for itself is indeed occurring, then Pietro “Pete” Vichy Domenici, the son of Italian immigrants, may be seen as both its Michelango and its Machiavelli" said the article, noting that the nuclear industry had "showered" him "with hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions".

The article highlighted how:


 * Domenici worked "tirelessly as the chairman of two powerful Senate committees with direct control of federal spending on nuclear energy and regulation". However, with the Democrats taking control of Congress, he has now lost the chairmanships of the Energy Committee and the Appropriations Subcommittee on Water and Energy.


 * He has been heavilly funded by nuclear companies. Since 1989, "Domenici has received $1.2 million in campaign donations from individuals and political action committees in the energy and natural resources sector, well over a tenth of the total $10.8 million he has raised for his Senate campaigns in that time, according to federal election records". Domenici’s campaign donors include at least three dozen members of the Nuclear Energy Institute.
 * Whislt funded by the nuclear industry, he boasts "proudly of how he brought an 'adversarial' Nuclear Regulatory Commission to heel". In 1998 he threatened to slash the NRC's budget unless it became "friendlier" to the nuclear industry;


 * Also whilst funded by the industry, the senator’s "signature achievement" was winning passage of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which contained $85 billion in subsidies and tax breaks across all energy sectors, including $13 billion for nuclear power.


 * In the mid-1990s, Domenici attacked the US's retreat from nuclear after Three Mile Island and Chernobyl as based on "irrational fear," and "deliberate misinformation" and "propaganda" from anti-nuclear activists.


 * Dominici has championed a $1.5 billion uranium enrichment facility in his home state of New Mexico. The article notes that at the time the consortium sought NRC licensing, its partners included three of the top U.S. nuclear power plant operators — Exelon, Entergy and Duke and Westinghouse, which has since left venture. Also involced are the Shaw Group which is designing and engineering the plant and Areva which is handling waste from the facility.


 * In the past eight years, "political action committees linked to those six firms spent more than $15 million trying to influence the outcome of U.S. elections, ... Domenici received nearly $38,000, well more than the per capita income in his state"


 * As Dominici worked on the uranium enrichment project, "his top Energy Committee aide was Alex Flint, who had previously been a highly paid, registered lobbyist for nuclear interests, including Exelon, Westinghouse and Areva. Flint is now the nuclear industry’s top lobbyist at the Nuclear Energy Institute.

CLEAN Energy Act resistance
Domenici opposed the CLEAN Energy Act of 2007, which addressed royalties and tax breaks previously afforded to oil and gas companies. He claimed the act's strict renewable energy requirements would be too difficult to meet for regions of the country that can produce little wind energy to comply.

Tobacco issues
Sen. Domenici voted "no" on increasing tobacco restrictions in June 1998, however the bill, known as the McCain bill, would also have also granted the tobacco companies protection from liability, something many health advocacy organizations strongly opposed. in 2003, the American Public Health Association gave Pete Domenici a rating 0%, indicating a stronly anti-public health voting record.

Role in U.S. attorney firings controversy
In early 2007, after he had been fired as the U.S. attorney for New Mexico, David Iglesias alleged that he had been pressured by Domenici about the pace of an investigation of a New Mexico Democrat in late 2006 (weeks before his firing). Domenici initially denied speaking to him. He stated “I have no idea what he’s talking about.” Later, however, he admitted calling Iglesias, stating “I asked Mr. Iglesias if he could tell me what was going on in that investigation and give me an idea of what time frame we were looking at.”

Domenici’s actions appeared to violate Senate rules. In a discussion of Senate Rule 43, the Senate Ethics Manual states that “[t]he general advice of the Ethics Committee concerning pending court actions is that Senate offices should refrain from intervening in such legal actions. . . until the matter has reached a resolution in the courts.” The manual also indicates that senators should not consult with an agency regarding any enforcement or investigative matter.

In a request for a Senate Ethics Committee investigation, CREW alleged that Domenici violated Rule 43 by pressuring Iglesias to “act quickly on a pending corruption investigation.” In addition, because Domenici made the call shortly before the November 2006 congressional elections, he may have violated the clause restricting members from contacting agencies on the basis of political considerations.

On March 7, 2007, Domenici hired Lee Blalack, formerly an attorney for former Rep. Duke Cunningham (R-Calif.), as his legal counsel.

The Senate Ethics Committee confirmed suspicions that Domenici was the subject of a "preliminary inquiry" in the language of a resolution passed on April 17, 2007. The "inquiry" is investigating alleged communication between Domenici and Iglesias.

Admonished by Ethics Committee
On April 24, 2008, Dominici was admonished by the Senate Ethics Committee for “inappropriately” contacting in 2006 one of the nine U.S. attorneys later fired by President Bush.

The light punishment came after the committee found “no substantial evidence” that Domenici tried to influence attorney David Iglesias when he contacted him to inquire about the status of a 2006 investigation into corruption charges on a state Democratic official. A possible indictment could have buoyed the re-election hopes of Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.), who is currently seeking to replace Domenici when the senator retires after his current term. Iglesias charged that Domenici and Wilson were pressuring him to wrap up the investigation before that November’s elections, a violation of ethics rules.

The Ethics Committee, which spent nearly $5,000 to send three staff members to Albuquerque in March and July last year to investigate the matter, said that Domenici’s phone call to Iglesias, in advance of an upcoming election, “created an appearance of impropriety that reflected unfavorably on the Senate.”

Michael Mukasey nomination
Sen. Domenici voted FOR the confirmation Bush appointee Michael Mukasey as Attorney General of the U.S. on Nov. 8, 2007. Six Democrats and Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) joined most Republicans in the 53-40 vote confirming Mukasey. No Republicans voted against him. Mukasey's nomination was surrounded by controversy after he called waterboarding "repugnant" but refused to say whether it was illegal under anti-torture laws.

Bio
Domenici was born May 7, 1932 in Albuquerque. After earning a degree in education at the University of New Mexico in 1954, taught math at Garfield Junior High in Albuquerque beginning in 1955. He earned his law degree at the University of Denver in 1958 and returned to practice law in Albuquerque. 

In 1966 Domenici successfully ran for a position on the Albuquerque City Commission and in 1968 was elected Commission Chairman. This position was equivalent to that of "Mayor" under the structure of the city government at the time.

After making an unsuccessful bid for Governor of New Mexico in 1970, two years later Domenici successfully ran for a position in the U.S. Senate. He was re-elected in 1978, 1984, 1990, 1996, and 2002, making him the longest-serving senator in the state's history.

Domenici is an avid proponent of nuclear power and has published two books on the subject: "A Brighter Tomorrow: Fulfilling the Promise of Nuclear Energy" (Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2004), which he wrote; and "Advanced Nuclear Technologies - Hearing Before the Committee on Appropriations, U.S. Senate" (Collingdale, Pennsylvania: D I A N E Publishing Company, 1999), which he edited.

Domenici is the fifth-most senior sitting senator, and second-most senior sitting Republican. If the Republicans obtained a majority in 2008, he would be in line to become President Pro Tempore.

Retirement from Senate
It was expected on October 4, 2007 that Sen. Domenici would announce that he would not seek a seventh term. Second among Republicans in seniority, Domenici has fought health problems in recent years, but Republican leaders had hoped that he would follow through on plans to seek reelection for a seat that Democrats were eyeing. Republican officials close to the senator said that his health concerns took precedence.

A Republican reportedly close to the senator said the chief issue in the decision was health and that Domenici and his wife had concluded that he no longer had the physical stamina to wage a re-election campaign, especially if the race was tough. Domenici has arthritis and was said to appear increasingly frail.

Until the week of October 1, 2007 Domenici appeared to be on a campaign track raising money at a fast pace. The six-term Domenici joined four other Republicans in not seeking re-election: Sens. John Warner, Chuck Hagel, Wayne Allard and Larry Craig. Nine House Republicans had also announced their retirement.

The most likely Republican candidates to seek Domenici’s seat were Reps. {Heather Wilson]] and Stevan Pearce. Potential Democratic candidates included Rep. Tom Udall, Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez, Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, and former state attorney general Patricia Madrid. Advisors of Gov. Bill Richardson, reportedly the Democrats’ dream candidate, said that Richardson was not interested in the seat and was focused on the 2008 presidential race. Wealthy businessman Don Wiviot was already in the race and had put up several hundred thousand dollars of his own money into the race.

Wilson to seek seat
According to a source familiar with the decision, Rep. Heather Wilson would reportedly run for the New Mexico Senate seat that opened up when Sen. Pete Domenici announced his resignation. Domenici cited health concerns at a press conference on October 4, 2007. “I am not willing to take a chance that the people who have so honored me with their trust for 40 years might not be served as well as they deserve in the United States Senate,” he said. Wilson had reportedly been taken under Domenici’s wing and her name had topped a list of potential heirs. As a strong campaigner she survived several multimillion-dollar challenges in the swing state including a win by under 1,000 votes in the 2006 election, however she also faced the U.S. Attorney scandal that may have affected a Domenici run.

Money in politics
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Oil Money in Politics
Pete Domenici has received $138,600 in oil contributions during the 110th congress. $57,500 of those dollars were from industry PACS. In total, Domenici has accepted $350,558 from oil companies since 2000, which makes him one of the top recipients of oil money in the Senate. See above for oil and energy voting record.

Committees and Affiliations

 * International Advisory Board, Center for Nonproliferation Studies

Committees in the 110th Congress (2007-2008)

 * Senate Committee on the Budget
 * Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources - Ranking Member
 * Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs
 * Senate Committee on Appropriations
 * Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science
 * Subcommittee on Defense
 * Subcommittee on Energy and Water
 * Subcommittee on Homeland Security
 * Subcommittee on Interior and Related Agencies
 * Subcommittee on Transportation, Treasury, Judiciary, Housing and Urban Development
 * Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
 * Subcommittee on Investigations
 * Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information and International Security
 * Subcommittee on Disaster Recovery
 * Subcommittee on State, Local, and Private Sector Preparedness and Integration

Committee assignments in the 109th Congress (2005-2006)

 * Senate Committee on Appropriations
 * Subcommittee on Commerce Justice and Science
 * Subcommittee on Defense
 * Subcommittee on Energy and Water - Chair
 * Subcommittee on Homeland Security
 * Subcommittee on Interior
 * Subcommittee on Transportation Treasury the Judiciary and Housing and Urban Development
 * Senate Committee on the Budget
 * Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources - Chair
 * Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs
 * Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations
 * Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management the Federal Workforce and the District of Columbia
 * Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management Government Information and International Security
 * Senate Committee on Indian Affairs

Contact
DC Office: 328 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Phone: 202-224-6621 TTYD Number: 202-224-3844 Fax: 202-228-0900 Web Email Website

District Office - Albuquerque: Alburquerque Plaza 201 3rd Street, Northwest, Suite 710 Albuquerque, NM 87102 Phone: 505-346-6791 Fax: 505-346-6720

District Office - Las Cruces: 505 South Main, Suite 118 Loretto Town Center Las Cruces, NM 88001 Phone: 505-526-5475 Fax: 505-523-6589

District Office - Roswell: Federal Building 500 North Richardson Street, Suite 227 Roswell, NM 88201 Phone: 505-623-6170 Fax: 505-625-2547

District Office - Santa Fe: 120 South Federal Place, Suite 302 Santa Fe, NM 87501 Phone: 505-988-6511 Fax: 505-988-6514

Resources

 * Official website
 * Energy Policy Act of 2005, Wikipedia article on Act sponsored by Senator Domenici and Representative Joe Barton
 * SourceWatch article on Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction Act of 1996
 * Follow the Oil Money-Senate
 * Vote Tracker
 * Follow the Coal Money- Senate
 * Appalachian Voices

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Bush administration U.S. attorney firings controversy
 * David Iglesias
 * Freedom's Watch
 * Marco Caceres

Local blogs and discussion sites

 * Democracy for New Mexico
 * New Mexico Politics with Joe Monahan
 * NewWest.net -- A Refreshing, new kind of journalism.

Articles

 * Bill Mesler, "Senator Strangelove," Mother Jones, November/December 1999.
 * Michael Scherer, "The Half-Life of Pork," Mother Jones, June 19, 2003.
 * Mike Stuckey, "From Senate Job to Nuclear Lobbyist - Twice," MSNBC, March 22, 2006.
 * Mike Stuckey, "Sen. Pete Domenici: nuclear renaissance man - Long-serving lawmaker is driving force behind U.S. industry's rebirth," MSNBC, January 24, 2007.
 * Josh Marshall, Talking Points Memo, March 1, 2007: "Former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias has now all but named Rep. Heather Wilson (R-NM) and Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) as the two members of Congress who pressured him to indict a New Mexico Democrat before the November election." re Bush administration U.S. Attorney appointments
 * Dan Eggen, "Domenici Says He Contacted Prosecutor," Washington Post, March 5, 2007.
 * "N.M. senator apologizes for inquiry into corruption case. Fired U.S. attorney says he was pressed about probe on Democrat," McClatchy-Tribune (Baltimore Sun), March 5, 2007.
 * David Johnston, "Senator Sought Dismissal of New Mexico Prosecutor," New York Times, March 5, 2007.
 * Jennifer Talhelm, "Senator Complained About Fired Attorney," Associated Press (San Francisco Chronicle), March 5, 2007.
 * "N.M. senator apologizes for inquiry into corruption case. Fired U.S. attorney says he was pressed about probe on Democrat," McClatchy-Tribune (Baltimore Sun), March 5, 2007.
 * Marisa Taylor, "GOP ethics under scrutiny. Two lawmakers tried to influence federal probe, sources say," McClatchy Newspapers (CentreDaily.com), March 5, 2007.
 * "CREW files Ethics Complaint against Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM)," Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), March 5, 2007.
 * "CREW releases 'Beyond DeLay: The 22 Most Corrupt Members of Congress (and two to watch)'," Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, September 18, 2007.
 * Eric Pianin, "Sen. Pete Domenici Expected to Retire," The Fix Blog/Washington Post, October 3, 2007.
 * John Bresnahan, Josh Kraushaar, and Martin Kady II, "Domenici calls it quits," The Politico, October 3, 2007.
 * Adam Conner, "A New Mexican on Drafting Tom Udall and Turning NM 100% Blue," MyDD, October 3, 2007.
 * "Mired in attorney scandal, Wilson to seek Domenici's seat," Think Progress, October 4, 2007. re Heather Wilson
 * Steve Tetreault, "Senator offers alternative for Yucca project: Interim sites in East, West proposed," Las Vegas Review-Journal (Nevada), June 28, 2008.
 * Murray Waas, "The Big Stone Wall: Nine Bush-Era Officials Refused to Cooperate With DOJ Probes," Talking Points Memo, Feb. 18, 2009.
 * Murray Waas, "U.S. Attorney Scandal: Feds Probe Domenici For Obstruction of Justice," TPM Muckraker, Feb. 4, 2009.
 * Murray Waas, "The Big Stone Wall: Nine Bush-Era Officials Refused to Cooperate With DOJ Probes," TPM Muckraker, Feb. 18, 2009.